Many unfortunate disasters occurred in the Roman Empire
during the reign of Titus. An epidemic of plague swept the
empire, fire burned in Rome for three days, and Mount
Vesuvius erupted on the Bay of Naples, burying Pompeii
and Herculaneum and killing thousands of people. Much of
Titus’ reign is marked with his acts of kindness in trying to
ease the suffering of his unfortunate people. Titus
succeeded his father as emperor after his death. He had
been Caesar under his father Vespasian during the last few
years of his reign and helped Vespasian to govern wisely.
Titus fell very much in love with Berenice, the Jewish queen
and sister of King Agrippa II. Together, Agrippa and
Berenice ruled parts of Palestine and Syria as client king
and queen of Rome. Though they cooperated with the
Romans, some of their subjects did not, starting a bloody
rebellion that ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem
and the Temple. Most of the Roman citizens sharply
disapproved of the affair between an heir to the throne and
a foreign queen, much as they had when Julius Caesar and
Marc Antony had tried to make Cleopatra their queen.
Sadly, Titus sent his one true love back to Jerusalem in
order that he might not offend Roman society. The
Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheater, was completed
during the reign of Titus. Titus died from a short illness
after having reigned two years and two months. There was
a rumor that his brother Domitian poisoned him, but there
is no real evidence to support the accusation.

How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or
purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its
journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets
to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who
might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin
will venture to after it leaves our hands. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a
specific time and location, whether active currencies in the
age we live or artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of
craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often
lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. This
coin commemorates Rome’s victory against the Jewish
rebellion. While Rome’s occupation of the Holy Land was
short-lived, artifacts like this coin live one: concrete
remnants of ancient empires passed from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from generation to generation.